What will 2014 bring?

In 2014, people in Ireland will have the opportunity to elect 950+ local councillors and 11 Irish members of the European Parliament. Politicians are not universally popular at the moment, but it’s worth remembering that the political choices we make do shape our own, and other people’s, future: Local councillors have a say in local planning and environmental issues and the MEPs we elect will play an important part in shaping international issues such as climate, trade and research policies.

During the coming year the Government will review Ireland’s foreign policy, in an attempt to re-define what values we as a nation want to promote abroad. This is an important exercise, as our foreign policy is an expression of who we want to be as a people. The global economy determines our prosperity, and our foreign policy can help shape the global political framework we need to face the challenges of a rapidly changing international system.

2014 will also mark the centenary of the beginning of World War I, that most destructive of conflicts which also sowed the seeds of political disillusionment and spelled the end of Europe’s colonial empires.